Family: the sunshine of my week

Following a wonderful weekend, I was excited to begin the week! 


Monday
Good day at work followed by....

                                 Dinner at Queen's Arms with my family!                           

Sitting at the table with Mom, Dad, Aunt Nan and Grandmom felt surreal and yet so natural. There was so much that we all wanted to talk about.  How amazing being able to tell them about my London experiences (so far) with them actually in London with me? And enjoying  Strongbows with one another! Following dinner I brought them to our Kilburn flat, a minute walk from Queen's to show them the place. Introducing them, Grandmom and Nan especially, to the London family was adorable - I was sharing my family with my other family. Then I packed up my clothes for Tuesday and went to the Hilton Green Park to stay with them for the night. Mom, Dad and I enjoyed glasses of wine in the Berry Bar before going to bed. (P.S. Being able to physically hug my Mom was something I certainly missed and really appreciate). 

Tuesday 

Early wake up call: 5:30. Went to bed at 1 and didn't sleep because someone was operating a motor engine during the night. Left the Hilton at 6:30 and took a cab to St.Pancras International. The station is spectacular - skillful combination of modern and traditional design. Eurostar was at 8:15. Being able to travel direct to the heart of Paris from London by train was so cool! Slept on the train after chatting with the girls for a little bit. Then we reached Paris and saw Michael! Seeing him was a very emotional experience, most notably for Grandmom. 

Michael being a professional tour guide, we were in good hands venturing Paris for the day. About 80% of the places we went, Michael and Scott were known very well, making all of us feel very special. There is obviously so much I can tell you about what we did, so I will show you pictures and explain. 

3 Generations of Tuscano women 
Le dejeuner at Lutetia

Royal Opera House

Inside the Royal Opera House

Galleries Lafayette 

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower
Boat ride and tour along the River Siene.

Le Louvre

French Parliament

Back at the first restaurant I came to in Paris 9 years ago. Delicious baguette!

I love Paris every moment

Every moment of the year

I love Paris, why oh why do I love Paris

Because my love is here

Wednesday

Beginning of my workday was normal. However, come lunchtime Paul took me on my Parliament tour Part 1. There is so much to see in Parliament. The House the Lords was the primary focus for this part. I was in awe over the halls, the sitting room, the grand hall, the Queen’s robing room…her throne! Paul knows an incredible amount of history behind Parliament; I was fascinated by everything that he was saying. He told me things that I do not think I would have learned otherwise.

After the tour and getting lunch, I continued with casework. Around 15:00 David took Natalie and myself along with him to receptions and drop-ins in Parliament. At last! I was so thrilled to join David and watch him engage with others as well as have his picture taken with them. The receptions in Parliament are really stellar – great foods and great drinks. The events that I attended were the Knowing Your Pulse Awareness Week, Crossrail Ltd, Money Advice Service and Food Standards Agency Receptions. Following the events I stuffed a few envelopes and then jet off to meet the family for dinner in Green Park.

Dinner was at Le Boudin Blanc. Dad had been there before and always wanted the little table in the corner of the upper dining area. And we got that spot! When Dad had mentioned we were going to a French restaurant two things crossed my mind. First, French…I don’t know how this is going to go over for everyone. Second, didn’t we go to Paris yesterday? All of my hesitations went out the window once we sipped our delightful glasses of white wine. And the food? Fantastique! Staff was friendly and the atmosphere was relaxing. As my entrée I ordered the Steak de thon grillé, aubergines épicées, coriandre et salade de fenouil au sesame. My meal here will without doubt be considered one of my best during my time here in London.

Thursday

The family went to Stonehenge, Windsor and Bath for the day. For a majority of the workday, things were normal. We celebrated Natalie with a wonderful champagne toast, as it was her last day working in the office. The end of the workday was really funny, David wanted Gareth and Paul to find jokes for his speech, but Parliament is currently blocking everything. There are so many hackings happening by the media so there is extra security and denied access happening on the intranet. However when the two did find websites, all you would hear was laughing and someone asking, “What?” It was hilarious!

Around 19:00 we made our way down to Sports. Knowing tonight was Karaoke Night we anticipated a large crowd. And we were right! It was packed, but so fun! It was so lovely spending time with my office and floor. These people are so nice, funny, and great to be around. Playing games, singing songs, chatting about whatever; just an awesome time together!

Friday

Grandmom, Nan and Mom made their way to Covent Garden in the morning. Dad had to stop into the office for a bit, so he and I scheduled lunch at PRET together once he was finished. I woke up to rain, which then followed a greater downpour. As I was in the shower, I saw a flash of light and then BANG!  The huge clash of thunder set off an alarm in the flat downstairs. All I could think was, “Great. The flat is going to burn down and I am going to be naked.” Thank goodness the cleaning lady was here because she turned off the alarm and made sure all was okay. Hopped out of the shower, got dressed and met Dad in Green Park for lunch at PRET. Talking business logistics and relationships with Dad in an eatery in London? So cool!

Following lunch, we all gathered at the Hilton and took the tube to South Kensington. Our destination was Kensington Gardens, but it started to rain again so we ducked into the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A is a fantastic museum! With the exception of special exhibits, entrance is free. The rich collections are varied and well displayed. We planned for a meeting time back at the “boobs and butts” section that Grandmom and Aunt designated near the entrance, making us all able to explore on our own. V&A is a great place to wander around. I found the descriptions informative but not boring. And the rooms were inviting and engaging. Spending our own individual time in the V&A, we all found areas that interested us. For me, from just a handful of what I covered, it was the Sacred Stained Glass.  The panels on display in the gallery show the technical changes that have occurred in stained glass over centuries and also the shifting role of stained glass. An important fact I learned: since glass is by nature a transparent or translucent medium, the designer or artist needs to consider the play of light as it passes through the window. V&A is another amazing London museum with, again, one problem. To see everything would quite literally take a few days! I plan on going after work one day soon.

Luckily the rain had passed when we left V&A. We did a quick stroll through one side of Kensington Gardens and then walked down South Kensington Street to Harrods. Mom and I did some gazing and admiring all around Harrods, trying on scarves and bags. Tried on a beautiful Burberry Brit jacket; I’m in love! You can totally get lost in Harrods, I discovered more and more this time than I did the last time I was there. Grandmom and Nan went back to the hotel after Harrods. I took Mom and Dad into Leicester Square for a nice dinner at Bella Italia and some pints at The Porcupine.